Leadership at Stead Family Children's Hospital

As chief administrative officer of Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Jim Leste, MS, FACHE, provides on-site leadership, which includes managing financial performance, clinical quality, and employee, physician, and community relations. He also serves as the executive leader for the UI Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) and Children’s and Women’s Services at UI Health Care.

Leste previously served as vice president of operations for Children’s Minnesota. He is board certified as a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and has held various leadership positions within Children’s Minnesota over the last two decades—including vice president of support operations; senior director of surgical specialties; director of safety, security, and emergency management; among others.

He is a board member and past board chair of Life Link III, the largest consortium owned critical care air medical transport company in the country. He has also served in an adjunct faculty role at Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota.

Jacqueline Nelson, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Children's & Women's Services at UI Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She grew up in Clemons, Iowa, and has spent most of her career at UI Health Care. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Rush University, Chicago; a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Arts in Nursing, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Iowa. She is certified with American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as Nurse Executive, Advanced.